Dameron AU Back to Basics
by sadyshea
Summary: Damian was six years old when he moved to the United States and he hated it. Every last shred of it. Until one day, he goes to school and sees a little blond boy with an instrument case on his back… / dameron AU damian mginty x cameron mitchell
1. Chapter 1

Damian didn't want to go to school. Everything was just too new. He didn't like new.

"It's time to get out of the car, Damian." His mother instructed, offering a hand to help him down from his seat.

"No. I won't go." Damian objected to his mother, crossing his arms defiantly.

Damian and his family had moved to the United States over a month ago and Damian still hated it. He hated how everyone smiled at him, he hated how everyone sounded different then he did but mostly he hated how sunny it was all the time. He wanted it to be gross outside, like how he had described it to his friends back in Ireland before he had been forced to abandon them because of his father's new job.

"Don't make this harder than it has to be. Please." His mother asked of him, her eyes brimming with frustrated tears.

To say that Damian had given his parents hell for the last month would be an understatement. He gave them the full on devil-child experience. He would rampage through the house, refuse to eat and scream at all hours of the night, keeping his entire household awake. In his mind, if he was going to be tortured by the relocation, so was everyone else.

"No, mommy. No. No. No." He said, screaming and kicking at her every time she tried to get close to him.

That's when he spotted a blond boy with big glasses on passing by the car. He was carrying a little black case that held some sort of instrument. When the mystery boy passed by the car, Damian stopped his thrashing and was suddenly calmed. The boy paused for a moment and gave Damian a tentative smile before he was urged on by his own mother. Damian's curiousity had been so sparked by the exchange that he silently took of his own seatbelt and slipped out of the car and past his mom.

"Okay. I think this might be okay." Damian explained to his mummy, holding out his hand for her to take.

She was taken aback by his sudden change in demeanor but decided to say nothing about it in fear that it might cause another tantrum. She passed him his Ninja turtles backpack and he put it on his back. They walked into the school and every inch of him was itching with wonder as he searched around for the blond boy.

"Damian, here's your class. Do you think you're fine to go on without me now?" Damian's mother asked patiently.

Damian peered into the classroom and saw the little blond boy unpacking his instrument in the cloakroom. Damian giggled to himself excitedly and nodded to his mom. "I'm a big boy, mom. I'm gonna be great." He explained before hugging her tightly.

Damian scampered into the classroom after they had said her goodbyes. He took off his backpack and put it up on a hook next to the blond boy.

"Hi, I'm Damian. I'm new." Damian introduced himself, jutting out his little hand toward the boy.

The boy looked at it in awe and stared up at Damian as if he were a very interesting alien. Damian realized that the boy was shy, but that was okay with him. He liked the mystery that came with shyness. It was like his new friend was a big question mark.

"I'm Cameron." The blond muttered and Damian smiled triumphantly.

"Ca-mer-on. Three syllables. I like that." Damian shared with Cameron. Cameron's jaw dropped at the big words that Damian used and the weirdly unique way that the brunette said them.

"You're from far away, aren't you?" Cameron asked, tilting his head in interest.

Damian scowled for a moment, he had almost forgotten about Ireland for a moment but if Cameron was wondering, he was going to have to answer in a nice tone of voice. "I am. You ever heard of Ireland?" Damian answered.

"I have! You're not a leprechaun, are you?" Cameron wondered, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise.

"No, silly! Leprechauns aren't real." Damian responded, laughing at the ridiculous question. Cameron eyes sparkled at Damian's laugh and soon, he was laughing along with his new friend.

"You should sit next to me." Cameron suggested, and with a burst of confidence, he took Damian's hand in his and led him to his desk.

"Perfect." Damian agreed, taking a seat in the desk next to Cameron's.

The class began and throughout Cameron and Damian made funny faces at each other, which kept them thoroughly entertained throughout the class.


	2. Chapter 2

"Are you ever going to play something for me?" Damian complained, poking at his friend's black guitar case. Cameron brought the mysterious thing to school every day and yet never seemed to open it. They were sitting at the bus stop and Damian was in some dire need of entertainment.

Cameron and Damian had been the best of friends since the very first day they had met in kindergarten. Now they were in grade four and they were inseparable. As the time went by, Damian got more and more used to the idea of the United States (all because of Cameron).

"Not yet, Damo. You have to be more patient." Cameron chided, a cheeky smirk on his face.

He knew how much it drove his Irish friend crazy, but Damian had to understand that it would be well worth the wait.

"You drive me crazy! Seriously!" Damian snapped, feigning frustration.

Unfortunately, he couldn't hide the amused smile that graced his lips. The secret of the song was something special that connected Damian to Cameron. As long as the case stayed closed, the promise of their friendship stayed intact. The anticipation made Damian's eyes sparkle. Cameron giggled at the sight.

"We better get on the bus." Cameron stated, motioning to the bus that had just arrived in front of them.

"Once day I'll be able to convince you to skip school with me." Damian announced, and Cameron just took his friend by the sleeve and dragged him up the stairs and into the bus.

"Not today, Mister McGinty." Cameron responded as they walked down the aisle to their regular seat in the very back corner. They liked it there because it was their space. Sure, they might look like loners but they didn't care for anyone invading on their conversations anyway.

Cameron let go of Damian's sleeve, as they were about to sit down. Holding sleeves was their own way of holding hands without attracting negative attention from their peers. It had become one of their rituals after one time they had been watching a scary movie and Cameron had grabbed onto Damian's sleeve for comfort. It became a gesture to remind each other that they were still there. On top of that, it just felt incredibly natural.

As they sat down, Damian and Cameron pulled out their comics and began to read in a comfortable silence. They didn't need to be in constant verbal communication when they were around each other, they could easily enjoy each other's company in quiet.

Out of nowhere, something was thrown at Cameron's head, which disturbed their reading.

"Ow!" Cameron muttered, rubbing at the spot where the object had made contact.

Damian looked around for the attacker and spotted a couple boys from their class snickering two rows in front of them.

Cameron reached down and picked up a pebble off the ground. He scowled at the tiny thing that had just inflicted on him, so much pain.

"Oi! What was that about?" Damian barked at he boys, standing to his feet. He didn't understand how they could be finding so much amusement in hurting his best friend. Cameron had done nothing wrong, he was completely innocent and yet, they still punished him for nothing.

"Damian. Don't." Cameron pleaded, adjusting his glasses nervously and shrinking back into the seat.

"They hurt you. I'm going to stick up for you." Damian stated and Cameron didn't object.

The boys turned their heads, smirks riddled across their faces.

"You're a leprechaun and he's got four eyes… We don't like the 'two quirky best friends' scenario going on back there. It's weird." One of the boys, Trent, responded.

The three boys exchanged hi-fives and Damian was simply dumbfounded. How could people be so judgmental of something that didn't even affect them in any way? It just didn't make any logical sense. The anger began to churn inside of Damian at the thought.

"Just because we're good friends and we're a bit different, doesn't make it okay for you to pick on us. You don't even have any real friends, you're all friends out of convenience." Damian spat, his brow furrowed with fury.

"BOYS! SETTLE DOWN BACK THERE AND SIT THE HECK DOWN!" The bus driver called from the front but it did little to dissipate the heated moment. If anything, it made it even worse.

"Please. Just stop, Damo. They're not even worth it." Cameron whispered, his voice riddled with nerves and upset. He tugged lightly on Damian's sleeve, just wanting him to sit back down.

"I'M SERIOUS, BOYS! SIT DOWN!" The bus driver yelled again.

"Whatever, you guys are still major losers. Just stay in your corner, where you belong!" Trent snapped, nastily. The three guys sat down, one of them cackling almost maniacally.

The unjustified hate that Trent was sending their way made both Damian and Cameron's skin crawl.

Damian looked down at Cam and saw the begging look in his eyes. Damian slowly sat down, the pit of his stomach burning with residual anger at Trent and his two lackeys. But for Cam's sake, he simply picked the comic back up and returned to reading it.

Cameron hated confrontation so when Damian finally sat down, he released a sigh of sheer relief. He didn't let go of Damian's sleeve for the rest of the bus ride.


	3. Chapter 3

Grade 6

"The grade six dance. I don't think I want to go but my mom really wants me to." Cameron announced, at the lunchroom table, one Monday afternoon.

"The theme is the 50's. That might be fun?" Damian offered, trying to ease the pain away for his blond friend.

The grade six dance was after school on Friday. It was a way for all the kids to meet each other in a 'safe environment during their first year in middle school'. Damian and Cameron had mutually decided not to attend before Cameron's mother had made an intervention to both of them.

"Time to meet some new friends, you two. There are tons of great people out there, you just have to get out there and introduce yourselves! You are both so charming young men, you'll get all the ladies!" His mother had encouraged.

They had planned to play video games the whole night but they would have to abandon it because of the guilt trip.

"Yah, my wardrobe kind of fits it perfectly. You can borrow something, if you want." Cameron said, before taking a bite out of his peanut butter sandwich.

Damian never stopped appreciating how kind Cameron was, he was relentlessly generous. "I would love to." Damian responded.

"You should wear my red cardigan and my black skinny tie, they would look great on you." Cameron suggested, picturing the image in his head as he explained it. Damian would look handsome in his clothing, he decided before blushing.

Damian noticed the slight blush on Cameron's cheek and became intrigued by it. It made Cameron look adorable and fresh with life, it suited the blond.

Cameron saw that Damian was watching him with inquisitive eyes and he suddenly felt self-conscious. Cameron pushed his bangs in front of his eyes and then coughed. "I mean, er- only if you want to." He muttered.

Damian laughed at his friend's awkwardness. "I think that sounds like a great outfit." He assured Cameron, putting a supportive hand atop of the blonds'.

Cameron relished a moment in the contact, letting the electricity it sparked to course through his body. It was new and slightly confusing but he knew he liked it.

Damian felt it too, though neither of them said anything aloud. It was a silent acknowledgement of the connection.

"Hi guys!" A perky voice interrupted them and their hands automatically sprang apart.

Two girls stood in front of them, one red head and one brunette. It was Lindsay and Marissa. They were two best friends famous for always being attached at the hip (not unlike Cameron and Damian).

"Hi Emily, hi Lindsay." Damian greeted politely, his heart still pounding from holding Cameron's hand. Cameron waved meekly, needing more to recuperate.

"So, you guys know about the school dance on Friday?" Marissa asked, blushing slightly. It looked different on her than it did on Cameron, it looked ridiculous rather than cute, Damian thought.

"Yeah?" Damian answered with a question.

Lindsay, the more forward of the too, slightly pushed Marissa out of the way and exclaimed, "We would like you to be our dates. You two are best friends and we are best friends, it just makes sense."

Damian and Cameron were shocked by her boldness. They had planned to go together, without dates. They simply didn't know any girls and though they wouldn't share it with each other, they just wanted each other's company, nobody else's.

Cameron looked at Damian, desperate for his Irish friend to take the reigns on the situation. Cameron would surely mess it up and say the wrong thing, Damian would have to let the girls down easy.

"We'd love to." Damian accepted, without missing a beat.

Cameron's jaw dropped, two surprises was way too much for his little heart to handle. He felt slightly betrayed by Damian's rash decision, a lick of envy even danced within him. He didn't want Damian to go with anyone…

"Wow! Really? Perfect!" Marissa gushed, clapping her hands with glee.

"Damian, I'll go with you and Marissa will go with Cameron. Let's meet at four and get ice cream before the dance." Lindsay stated and with her determined tone of voice, nobody objected any part of it.

"Well, bye guys!" Marissa called as Lindsay dragged her off to another table, full of giggling girls.

Cameron chewed on his sandwich, paying full attention to it. He couldn't bare to make eye contact with Damian, he felt on the verge of tears because he was so frustrated.

"I had to, Cam." Damian whispered and Cameron lifted his eyes. Cameron grinded his teeth together, unsure of what Damian wanted him to say back.

"No, you didn't. You answered for both of us, and I, for one, don't want to go with them. The plan was to go together. But whatever." Cameron snapped, in a hushed tone. The anger brewing inside him was out of character and almost scared him.

Damian's eyes were solemn but he remained quiet. "People will talk, Damian. We don't want a grade four incident to happen again." He explained.

"I don't care what people say. And if you do, I don't think I want to eat here anymore." Cameron spat, gathering up his meal and stalking off across the cafeteria.

Damian felt instantly guilty. All he had wanted to do was protect them.


End file.
